HPX Group launches new ESG & sustainability consultancy firm Materra

A specialist new ESG & sustainability advisory has launched in Australia – Materra – established by professional services umbrella HPX Group and led by former RSM partner Linda Romanovska.

Established in 2018, HPX Group is the parent of law firm Hamilton Locke and a pair of other professional services businesses, Source and Helios Salinger, providing integrated legal, governance, risk, compliance and privacy services.

An expert in sustainable finance and ESG compliance and reporting, Romanovska joined RSM as a partner in late 2023 after two years as a director at PwC, before which she served in a variety of NGO and public sector leadership roles.

HPX said the new consultancy would provide clients with a full range of ESG-related services from its Sydney base, including sustainability strategy development, analysis and reporting, ESG governance and risk management, and investor relations and sustainable finance, along with a suite of specialised services on climate change, modern slavery, and natural capital.

“Working with the Hamilton Locke team and the group’s other businesses, Materra can help clients with the legal and regulatory side of ESG as well as their aspirational goals and implementation,” stated HPX Group CEO Nick Humphrey. “Ultimately, we want them to feel confident in and comfortable with their ESG performance, as well as their ability to achieve their bigger picture aspirations.”

So far the only person attached to Materra as per LinkedIn, Romanovska joins HPX as a partner after spending just over a year at RSM, with an earlier two-year stint at PwC preceded by more than a decade as a researcher and advisor to numerous government and non-profit climate-related agencies, including the European Commission and Australian Sustainable Finance Institute.

Highlights during her career include drafting the inaugural climate resilience policies for the European Union as well as co-authoring sustainable finance and corporate sustainability regulations and standards for Australia, the EU, ASEAN and elsewhere. She has also supported a wide array of companies from global multinationals to local start-ups on their sustainability and ESG journeys.

ESG climate

Romanovska notes Materra’s launch as coming at a time when organisations are currently faced with conflicting narratives around ESG. “Smart businesses will continue to make it a priority and part of their everyday operations: not only because they are obligated through regulation, but in that it positions them better towards investors, clients and talent and helps them steer clear of emerging risks.”

Established as Halo prior to its 2022 rebrand, HPX’s has been recognised as among Australia’s fastest growing companies on the AFR Fast 100 list for the past two consecutive years. Prior to the launch of Materra, the firm’s other business lines have been the result of a series of acquisitions and amalgamations, including the pick up of Salinger Privacy towards the end of last year.

Romanovska concludes: “Our aim is to simplify ESG for businesses and set them up for success by being realistic and pragmatic about their sustainability goals and putting in place strategies that are the right fit. There’s a real opportunity for organisations to take a long-term view of their ESG commitments as essential to being both a financially healthy and environmentally responsible business.”